HAMBURG, N.Y. – Thomas Evans and Maddie Fusco were named the 2023 Hilbert College Athletes of the Year as selected by the Hawks' head coaches and support staff.

Thomas Evans, a 6'5 senior outfielder, concluded his Hilbert career as a two-time bseball All-American while Maddie Fusco, a 2023 Hilbert graduate with one season of eligibility left, had a break-out season on the trails and track in only her first season competing for the Hawks cross country and track and field teams.

Thomas Evans (Orchard Park High School/Niagara County Community College) accumulated  multiple post-season honors in 2023. He collected a Third Team NCAA All-American honor and a Fifth Team D3baseball.com  All-American award, a First Team All-Region 7 recognition in both the NCAA and D3baseball.com polls and was named a First Team AMCC All-Conference player.

Evans started all 44 games this year. He led the Hawks in plate appearances (201), runs (59), total bases (130), extra base hits (34), and stolen bases (16).  During the 14-AMCC regular season league schedule, he led the AMCC in batting average (.463), slugging percentage (.944), sxtra base hits (15), and fielding percentage (1.000). Evans finished second in home runs (12), third in RBI (49) and fourth in hits (67) while posting an impressive 1.315 OPS.   He established single season records for Hilbert baseball in slugging percentage, at bats, runs, home runs, total bases, games played and started and most walks.   

Evans is a two-time AMCC Academic All-Conference and Peak Performer (3.5+ gpa) student-athlete who was inducted into the New York Theta Chapter of the Chi Alpha Sigma National Student-Athlete Academic Society in 2022.  He graduated with a Sports Industry Management degree (3.5222 gpa) this May.

Maddie Fusco (Hamburg, N.Y./Hamburg|Mercyhurst) returned to her first love – running this year - after transferring to Hilbert in 2020.  She earned an All-Conference patch and was one position away from being named the Newcomer of the Year as an Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference cross country runner.  Fusco then continued to be the Hawks' top middle-distance runner in the spring track and field season lifting the team in their inaugural season of competition.

Fusco traded in her soccer cleats from the fall 2021 NCAA season and dusted off her running spikes this year.  She hasn't looked back either. Fusco earned a 1st place finish in her very first collegiate competition at the Daniel Walker, opening-weekend race.  She was the first scoring runner at the Meghan Memorial Race, outdistancing her next closest competetor by thirty-one seconds.  Fusco paced the Hawks in five races this fall, and she finished the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Championship 6K course in 26:15.5, earning an All-Conference honor as a Top 10 finisher.  Fusco, as a rookie runner who was the fourth athlete to clip the finish line, was just 12-seconds away from earning the AMCC Newcomer of the Year award.  She then continued to carry the women's track team, earning a 1st place finish at the Penn State Behrend Invite April 19th.  She has recorded the top three fastest times in both the 800M (02:34.73) and the 1500M (05:11.40) distances and joined the program's 4X400 relay team establishing a 04:42.28 record.

Fusco is a three-time AMCC Academic All-Conference and Peak Performer (3.5+ gpa) student-athlete who was inducted into the New York Theta Chapter of the Chi Alpha Sigma National Student-Athlete Academic Society in 2022.  She graduated with a Forensic Science/Crime Scene Investigation degree (3.8166 gpa) this May but will continue to compete for the women's cross country team next fall as she pursues her Criminal Justice Administration degree.